I realize that this kinda defeats the point, but...

**prator** · 06-13-2008, 10:55 PM

Can I have some advice on how to make this game less scary?

Don't laugh, I'm just a timid person who has trouble adjusting to the idea of walking around in a dark, cavernous dungeon full of things that want to kill me without a weapon. I played the demo, thought it was cool, and bought it... but now I'm too afraid to actually play. I keep remembering that doglike creature that savaged me in the demo, and I freeze up IRL whenever I consider turning Penumbra on again.

I really haven't gotten far past the material covered in the demo, having just reached the office in the first level of the mines, where that save-point artefact is sitting on a desk. It's kind of sad how happy I was to see that save-point after walking 20 feet from the entrance to the office door...

I don't know exactly why I'm affected this way... I've done FPS games before, and though I do tend to freak out when something beastial pops up onto the screen and starts roaring at me, usually my response is to fire wildly with any weapons I have at hand, which generally solves the problem. Only now I don't have a gun, and I don't know if this hammer is any good, and am not keen on trying it out... I have no problems with being sneaky instead of violent, but the idea that "if my sneakiness fails, I'm screwed," is kind of paralyzing.

I suppose I could turn off the creepy ambient music, and lighten the screen up a bit, maybe put on the Halo themesong for emotional encouragement... But what else could I do? What else should I know about this game that might take the fright off a bit? And is there a return policy?

**WindexGlow** · 06-13-2008, 10:58 PM

Keep the door to your room open (if you have a computer in the room) or have someone else in there.
Turn the volume down.
Try to think of what's going on in the mines
Remember that you can always run faster than the wolves (honestly, you can)

**eliasfrost** · 06-14-2008, 12:32 AM

You can try this :

Having someone sitting next to you, solving the puzzles together.
Turn up the gamma
Lower the sound and music
Run away from the monsters, and jump on top of a crate where it can't get you.
Turn on the main light source in your room.
Change underwear daily.

**prator** · 06-14-2008, 02:37 AM

Quote:Remember that you can always run faster than the wolves

Really? That's bizarre... Although, since I've already got it set to Easy mode, I don't know why that surprises me.

**Kfu** · 06-14-2008, 05:01 AM

Hey guy, i´m just like you! i can´t play survival horror games, is impossible to me, maybe i´m playing them in a part that nothing happens but i get scared of... nothing, my heart speeds up and i can´t breath, is horrible

but to play penumbra i play it during the day, usually at 3, 4 pm, with the windows and doors opened, turned off the sound, turned up the gamma and brightness of the monitor and with the TV on

that´s help me a lot, try it yourself

if horrible this, of being scared of this stuff, but is a must to play this game, lol

**WindexGlow** · 06-14-2008, 07:22 AM

Also, having background noise (radio, music, fan, tv, ect) is a great mood killer for this game; aka: makes the game less scary.

**prator** · 06-14-2008, 02:12 PM

Thanks for your help, everyone.

My trepidation is just about gone now, due to the large amounts of light in my room, the raised gamma settings in the game, the absence of music, and this:
http://www.frictionalgames.com/forum/sho...hp?tid=860

Now that I can actually use the hammer to kill things, life is looking up! I have slain three hounds already today! You'd be amazed how much a little wanton slaughter can improve your mood. I can't wait to try out my new pickaxe!

Yeah, that's right! Suck steel, *****S! Wham! Pow!

...I may be playing the wrong kind of game.

**Petike** · 06-14-2008, 04:05 PM

prator Wrote:I don't know exactly why I'm affected this way... I've done FPS games before, and though I do tend to freak out when something beastial pops up onto the screen and starts roaring at me, usually my response is to fire wildly with any weapons I have at hand, which generally solves the problem. Only now I don't have a gun, and I don't know if this hammer is any good, and am not keen on trying it out... I have no problems with being sneaky instead of violent, but the idea that "if my sneakiness fails, I'm screwed," is kind of paralyzing.

That's why Penumbra is so scary - no projectile weapons, no gunfights with monsters, no safe instant slaughtering... Just good old bare-handed close combat... :-) Oh, BTW, did you know that the second episode doesn't even feature any weapons ? Oops, now I probably scared you a bit... ;-DD

Anyway, the combat may be clunky, but it really works, once you get used to it - even without turning on the "easy swing" mode. :-)

**prator** · 06-15-2008, 02:48 AM

Petike Wrote:That's why Penumbra is so scary - no projectile weapons, no gunfights with monsters, no safe instant slaughtering... Just good old bare-handed close combat... :-) Oh, BTW, did you know that the second episode doesn't even feature any weapons ? Oops, now I probably scared you a bit... ;-DD

That information, combined with certain things I heard at the end of the game (Alas, poor Red. I actually didn't know him very well, Horatio.) has more or less killed my desire to buy the sequel.

It's been fun, but I hope never to play a game like this again. I'm going back to isometric RPG games...

**Petike** · 06-15-2008, 01:02 PM

prator Wrote:That information, combined with certain things I heard at the end of the game (Alas, poor Red. I actually didn't know him very well, Horatio.) has more or less killed my desire to buy the sequel.

It's been fun, but I hope never to play a game like this again. I'm going back to isometric RPG games...

Don't worry !
Because there are no weapons in BP (except your ever trusted hands for throwing objects), the enemies are also few and far between...
Many gamers on this forum already said, that the encounters with monsters in BP were a lot more predictable and less scary than in Overture.